I get asked that question every now and then. And I love it. It gives me an opportunity to describe this new term I created and give people examples of how it relates to them. (Just don’t ask me if I’m an Interior Designer. Because I’m not.) I noticed that I change up my description quite often depending upon whom I’m talking to. And I rarely give the same explanation twice. If I’m giving a lecture at a healing spiritual center where kindred, old souls have gathered in a meditation circle, well, my explanation might start off by delving deeper into our karmic lessons connected to our spaces, the soul of our home and the unseen energies that pulse through the arteries of our homes just like the blood through our veins.
If I’m teaching a seminar about Feng Shui to seasoned architects- who some, frankly might have just signed up for my seminars to receive credits to renew their license- my explanation focuses more on the psychology of certain design elements and how they have a tremendous impact on our psyche. When I’m in a boardroom with real estate investors who have hired me for their latest project, I’m determined to let them know the value of Holistic Design as a surefire way to connect to the millennium generation who want “green” bricks and mortar and more conscious-minded conveniences. When I meet with interior design teams for large projects like hotel lobbies, I try to support their ideas, while offering a perspective that ties together how the collective mind, body, spirit experience might be.
I tell myself that its ok to start the conversation with whatever way I intuitively feel my audience of the moment might resonate with it the most, because I know that I’m teaching concepts that can seem out there. If I enter through the right connecting portal, I notice more enthusiastic nods, pointed questions and dynamic feedback. No matter how I initially present this concept with all its rich layers, I feel it all seems to come together in the end, like a beautiful unfolding flower. People are getting it. In the same way that more and more individuals are choosing organic foods and actively participating in making sustainable environmental choices, they desire the same level of consciousness from their most intimate environment of all – their homes. Holistic Design examines the way you are dwelling in your home and connects the dots to your life. Whether it’s an imbalance in your relationship, unclear goals or trouble sleeping, I will point out how your challenges are physically or symbolically manifesting in your space. By addressing it all through an all-inclusive approach, transformations – both in a space and within yourself – can be profound.
I even have Holistic Design down to the six-second description. Here it is: “Mind. Body. Spirit. Home. It’s all connected.” Through out my website, I have dedicated pages that go to great lengths to clarify. Sometimes I bring out the full 15-minute detailed explanation- usually to reporters when they are interviewing me and I know they are not taping me. I worry that they will paraphrase my words and somehow reduce it all down to calling me an “interior designer who creates Zen spaces.”
As I finish the paragraph above, I take a break to look over my taxes that my accountant has prepared. As I go to sign, I happen to notice my title he has selected that I’m sure was picked from a paltry pool of vocational labels. With a sigh, I scribble my signature above the designation of my work the government has offered: Laura Benko, Interior Designer. I guess I’ll take whatever title works best after all.
